Beach Vacation

A week at the Oregon beach in the middle of November is a wonderful time to be there! We love to watch the waves crashing on the rocks and the swells are so high in the winter. My parents arranged for all of us to go to Depoe Bay for a week, it was so nice to get away and relax together! They ended up getting two condos, each with two rooms. So both Abby & Elijah got to have a "sleep over" at Grandma & Grandpa's condo for a week while we took the little two. Caleb tried sleeping over there the first  night, but came back saying he wanted his Mommy & Daddy.

We spent lots of time in the swimming pools and hot tub! It was a daily, or twice daily treat! The kids are all getting to be quite the little swimmers! Joel bought the older three some goggles and balls for diving in the water. Caleb isn't swimming yet, but was completely confident in the kiddy-pool which was 1'6" deep. It was perfect! Hannah loved it too...a little too much! She is very comfortable in the water and would often fall under, hold her breath and come up like nothing had happened! We were very vigilant with her because she was showing no fear! : )

Our friends, the Wilsons were also at the beach. They went down a few days earlier than us and left sooner, but we overlapped for a day or two. We met them at Fogarty Beach for some fun on the beach! The kids all had fun playing together and feeding the seagulls. Their boys, Kenneth & Aiden both placed bread on top of their heads to see if the birds would take it, but they weren't quite that brave! Abby got to go back to their condo with them and have dinner, then Joel and I took Elijah over there later. The four adults were able to play a game while the kids watched a movie/played games/wrestled/chased/looked at books...; )It was fun!

Another day we went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium and had fun walking around. We had beautiful weather! It was fun to see all the sea animals! I think the kids all liked the play areas the best! After that, we went to good ol' Mo's! I don't think a trip to the Oregon coast is complete without a visit there. I don't actually like seafood...I eat fish, but not so much shrimp, clams, etc. My parents and Joel always get the famous Clam Chowder though. Our kids like the sharks that come with the kids meals! The day we went both of the waitresses that were working that day told our family what behaved children ours were. It was quite a complement! We were all proud of the kids! It makes me wonder what other kids are like... : )

We celebrated Thanksgiving at the coast with my parents too! It was a week early, but that's ok! We had a delicious meal of ham, scalloped potatoes, green beans, jello salad, pumpkin pie & apple crisp! Not bad for making a holiday meal on vacation! Everything was delicious!

Caleb's 3rd birthday was a couple days after the trip, but since we were with Grandma & Grandpa, we couldn't pass up celebrating with them! I decided not to make a cake since we had the other desserts and I knew I would make one on his actual birthday. He was a good sport and blew out the candles on the apple crisp anyway! ; ) He got new pajamas and a train and a new Monster Truck from Grandma & Grandpa, and legos, and some Hot Wheels ramps from his siblings! We left Mom & Dad's present for him at home for later! It was fun, fun, fun!

Here's a not-so-flattering-picture of me in the morning, playing legos with Caleb, but I sure love the look on his face!!

One evening, Hannah & I stayed back at the condo while Joel took the big kids swimming and Caleb had some one-on-one time with Grandma & Grandpa. She kept herself quite busy, even let me snap a few pictures of her! ; ) She did her "somersaults" which is really just putting her head on the ground, although, this week, she is doing a full flip now, mostly to the side, but still! Our youngest one to do a somersault at 18 months! She climbed up onto the table and played with Mama's decorations, gave herself an interrogation, sat and said, "cheese" for me to take her picture, brushed her teeth, played with Caleb's new toys, and even tried to sit still for Mama to set up the self-timer to get a picture with her.

 Thanks, Mom & Dad!!